Flight control devices for aircraft usually comprise a control lever that is pivotally mounted on a stand of the control device to pivot about at least two mutually orthogonal axes of rotation so as to enable to control roll and pitching movements of the aircraft.
For this purpose, the control lever is mechanically or electrically connected to one or more piloting members of the aircraft such as control surfaces. Movements of the control lever are thus relayed either directly to said piloting members or else they are relayed to members for controlling said piloting members, with movements of the control lever then being converted into position information relative to the roll and pitching axes, with this information then being sent to the control members.
In order to assist the pilot, such a flight control device may also generate force return when the pilot manipulates the lever. Force return is generally defined by a threshold (i.e. the force exerted on the lever by the pilot must exceed the threshold in order for force return to be generated) and by a force relationship (representing the opposing force that should be generated by the force return as a function of the angle of inclination of the control lever, with the opposing force increasing with increasing angle of inclination of the control lever).
By way of example, both spring systems (passive systems) and electromechanical systems (active systems) are known for generating force return on the control lever.
By way of example, Document FR-A-2 954 835 discloses a control device including two actuators associated with the control lever in order to simulate force return for each movement in rotation of the lever relative to the stand.
Nevertheless, the actuators are then directly incorporated in the stand of the control device, such that the device becomes bulky. This is particularly troublesome in aircraft having cockpits of small size, such as helicopters that include a cockpit door, or indeed business jets or regional jets, since the control device can then become difficult to incorporate in the cabin.